Lot 129: A Highly Important and Rare Viola by Jacobus Stainer, Absom 1674

Result Price + Premium

Estimates

£60,000 - £100,000

Sale Archive

This is an archive lot from a previous sale. Please contact us if you are looking to purchase or sell a similar instrument. Brompton's will be happy to guide you through the process and discuss the best options available to you.

VAT & Import Tax

20% buyers premium only

Description

Property of a Gentleman. The finely carved lion head finial. This wonderful viola is a very recent discovery and has increased the number of genuine Stainer violas with a lion head finial to two. The only other example known to exist dates from 1678 and is on loan to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. . This remarkable instrument was made in 1674, and considering that it is over three hundred years old the condition is quite stunning. The beautiful finial in lion head form, is still as crisp as the day it was carved by Stainer. Benjamin Schroeder, one of the world's leading experts on the work of Stainer, informs us that there is only one other viola with a similar head in existence, an example dating from 1678 and on loan to the Kunsthistorisches museum in Vienna.. As mentioned earlier the wood used to make the table is incredibly ancient, to put this into historical context 1430 was the year that Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, and only fifteen years after the battle of Agincourt.